Choosing a speech pathologist can be really challenging!  Just as no two clients are the same, no two therapists are the same! We’re going to summarise a few things to consider, and some useful questions to ask – to help you make an informed choice.  Let’s begin:

Speech Pathology Australia have created a handout that contains a useful list of questions to ask a potential therapist.  Some of the key questions include:

1. What age group do you usually work with?
Speech pathologists work with people of all ages, however, they may have a special interest in working with a particular age group.  At Active Speech Pathology, our therapists have skills and experiences supporting children from 18 months to 18 years.

2. Have you worked with children with my child’s difficulties before?
Speech pathologists graduate with generalist knowledge in the areas of speech, language and swallowing and are able to work with many different people with different communication challenges. As speech pathologists gather experience they may develop an area of special interest in a particular field or they may continue to provide a generalist service.

At Active Speech Pathology, our key practice areas are: Speech, Language and Literacy.

Our highly skilled and caring therapists support children and young people from 18 months to 18 years with:

  • Early communication development (i.e., Late Talkers)
  • Receptive and expressive language difficulties including Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
  • Speech sound difficulties from mild articulation errors to more complex speech sound disorders
  • Social skill (pragmatic) difficulties
  • Literacy difficulties (i.e., reading, writing and spelling)
You’ll notice that voice disorders, stuttering and swallowing or feeding difficulties are not mentioned on this list.  That means our team does not work with children who present with these conditions.  If you contact us regarding any of these things, we will refer you on to other services.  If you are not sure whether our team is best suited to work with your child, call us to speak about your child’s difficulties and we can let you know about the work we have done with client’s of a similar background and if we can help.

3.  Where are you located?

There are very few ‘quick fixes’ in speech therapy which means sessions can be scheduled on a weekly or fortnightly basis for an extended period of time.  While at first, visiting a clinic 45 minutes from home can be managed, over time, this can easily become overwhelming, especially when juggling siblings and other family commitments. Making appointments at a clinic convenient to home is a good idea!  Alternatively, telehealth or mobile therapists may be options to consider to overcome the travel time barrier.

What other things should parents consider? 

At Active Speech Pathology, we know how important it is for parents and caregivers to be involved in therapy, so finding a therapist who shares your values, involves you in discussion and keeps you in the loop can be really useful.

It’s important that your child feels comfortable and enjoys attending therapy. If a child is disengaged, they aren’t going to be at their best in sessions, and learning can be impacted.  We get it! And work hard to build rapport with clients from their first minute in the clinic.

As always, if you have questions about our therapists or the ways we work, and would like to speak to someone who has an answer, then call us! 3103 0776.